Official Street Fighter IV controllers unveiled

CES 2009: Mad Catz peripherals for the Capcom faithful

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Gaming peripherals specialist Mad Catz has announced a full range of licensed Street Fighter IV accessories which will be available at the same time as the release of Capcom's massively anticipated SFIV in February 2009.

And while we rarely consider the announcement of a new range of licensed gaming controllers to be big news, the fact that this is the hallowed Street Fighter takes this announcement from Mad Catz to a different dimension altogether! (If you've never played, then you have never lived.)

Products in the range include the Official Street Fighter IV FightPad and the Official Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick: Tournament Edition for 360 and PS3 that "offers gamers precision control and quality engineering complete with stunning official artwork" and "dual-speed Turbo functionality for each button complete with LED Indicators allows gamers to execute moves with lightning speed while the eight-button Street Fighter IV arcade configuration means that those familiar with the arcade will feel instantly at home."

Avoid joystick-chaff

If that wasn't enough, in order to avoid joystick-chaff, "the ergonomic slanted top panel ensures maximum comfort during sustained play" and "Start and Select/Back Buttons have been moved to the rear of the FightStick thus minimizing the risk of accidental interruption during play and specially created 'Character Cards' ship with the Arcade FightStick which insert into the top panel and display a selection of special moves."

The true Street Fighter devotee will no doubt get a frisson of excitement from the fact that the development of Mad Catz's Official Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition was personally overseen by legendary producer Yoshinori Ono, sourced directly from arcade manufacturer Sanwa Denshi and uses "the same Japanese style ball-handled joystick and 30mm Action Buttons found in the official Street Fighter IV Vewlix arcade cabinet, marking the first time such components have been used for a commercial product outside of Japan."

Street Fighter IV is out next month. It is, as Darren Richardson, President and CEO of Mad Catz says, "the fighting franchise by which all others are judged."

"Produced in close collaboration with Capcom, the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV range of accessories has been created to support the game's unique button mapping and enhance game play for casual and dedicated fans alike," Mad Catz informs us.

Flight sim fans

It is not ALL about the king of beat-em-ups over on the Mad Catz CES booth mind. For flight sim fans Mad Catz also announced a new line of Saitek Aviator Flight Stick for 360 and PS3 at CES and the Cyborg X Flight Stick under the company's Saitek brand on PC.

Mad Catz boss Darren Richardson, notes that the "Cyborg X is the culmination of 10 years of Saitek innovation and engineering," and that the "Cyborg brand is reserved for those products designed for hardcore gamers that demand best-in-class features and durability."